One of the newest wineries to make a splash is the Clif Family Winery. If that name sounds familiar, you're not alone. A lot of you are probably familiar with Clif Bars, which are wonderful energy bars that I highly recommend if you haven't tried them before. Carrot Cake is my personal favorite. Or their other popular brand Luna Bars, which I love too. Their breakfast bars are great.

Well Gary Erickson and Kit Crawford, the owners of Cliff Bar & Co. decided that their passion for "food, family, and adventure" also included wine! Currently they have five different wines:

-The Climber White Wine Blend
-The Climber North Coast Red Wine
-Kit's Killer Cab - Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon
-Gary's Improv - Napa Valley Meritage
-Napa Valley Syrah

Clif Family Winery's winemaker is Sarah Gott, who joined the team in early 2007. She has a fantastic resume, graduating from UC Davis with a degree in Viticulture and Enology, and interning at Joseph Phelps Vineyards where she eventually moved up the ranks to winemaker. She spends her time consulting for various wineries in the Napa Valley, as well as building Joel Gott Wines with her husband.

The fruit for the wines is currently sourced from some of the best vineyards in the Napa Valley and North Coast appellations, and they actively seek out growers that have a commitment to sustainable farming and caring for the environment.

Take a look at their store here. They also have olive oil that looks pretty great too.
You can also find their wines at some Whole Foods Markets around the country.

I know, I know....I'm a complete and total reality tv addict, but you know what? I love it, and I'm opinionated about it.....and if you don't like it, then skip over these posts! :-)

The results are in....and Chris is out.

This episode was pretty sad, I hated to see one of these guys go. After seeing the three pieces that they chose to showcase I loved both of them! Honestly though, I preferred Chris' designs. I'm a little goth myself, so that might have something to do with it. I hope he goes on to put out a line, because I would totally wear his clothes.

It's time for the girls......here we go!

Carly Smithson is one of my favorite girls, and she really powered through Heart (helps that I love the song Crazy too). It takes a powerful and clear voice to be able to sing Heart, and I think she did really, really well. Excellent performance.

Syesha Mercado obviously has a big, beautiful voice. But her song didn't really showcase that. It seemed safe, and almost a little predictable. I hope she'll be around for a while longer....and I know she can do better.

Brooke picked a song I didn't expect her to. Carly Simon wouldn't have been my first choice for her. I enjoyed the guitar playing with it, but it honestly bothers me how much she smiles....You're So Vain is just not a song you smile during. Good performance though.

Ramiele, if nothing else is absolutely gorgeous, but on top of that she has an incredibly powerful and deep voice. She chose a good song this week too, it showcased her talents very well. It's still a shock to me to hear that voice come out of her. I'll agree with the judges that it could have had a little more "umph" to it, but I don't think they gave her enough credit.

The first time I saw Kristy Lee Cook in the auditions, I was really impressed with her. But ever since that she's kind of disappeared into the crowd. Her styling was much better tonight, and she showed some attitude but I'm not sure about the song choice. It was a good performance though, not great but good.

Amanda definitely stands out the most of all the female contestants, the hair really stands out. This was an interesting song choice for her. The quieter verses aren't her best. She really pulls out the parts of the song that need to be belted out, but it's a little hard to understand her when she's softer. I think she needs to choose something that showcases her voice more. I still love her though.

Alaina Whitaker, she's another one that I don't fully remember from one week to the next. Olivia Newton John is another one of those artists that's hard to do, comes across as a bad imitation most of the time. And Alaina sung this well, but I'm not sure it was the best song choice. She has a pretty powerful, clear voice....but she needs to stand out a little more now.

Alexandréa....her name bothers me. Reminds me of that scene from Mean Girls where Tim Meadows says how he hates it that his sister named his nephew "Anfernee". She picked a song that I really love, and was definitely dressed better. Not sure if the song was the best for her voice though. The girls seem to be struggling a bit with the 70's. It was a nice performance, but compared with a girl like Carly I'm not sure it stood up. She might be going home this week.

Kady....I'll try not to make another Mean Girls reference. She also chose Heart, and once again compared to Carly I don't think it was a good choice. Her outfit wasn't good (way too 70's), and I just don't think she has the voice to pull off Heart. I have a feeling she's going home this week.

Last but not least is Asia'h. I haven't been fully impressed with this girl since her audition. I was truly impressed at her audition that she could sing right after losing her father, but since then she just hasn't done much. For some reason it really bothers me that her hair is so different every week. And this week she really sounded bad, she just didn't hit the notes (not bad a the end, but not good enough). And don't think I'm picking on her I really like the girl, but she needs to step it up. And once again, I do have sympathy for having the flu, I'm still getting over it!

Okay, I think tomorrow we're going to see the guys and girls that haven't stood out go home. At this point in the competition we're still weeding out the competitors that just barely snuck in. We're getting close to a good bunch though.

Tonight was the premiere of a new show called quarterlife. The show centers around six people (3 guys and 3 girls) in their 20's. The idea is to show how turbulent life is between the age of 20 and 30. My first impression of it is kind of a combination between Sex and the City and Friends, but I'm not sure it's done as well as either of those shows were. I expected to turn on this show and come across something that I could relate to, seeing as how I am a twenty-something. But unfortunately I couldn't relate at all. The characters seem more like college kids than people starting out in the world. It was really disappointing to be completely honest.

I would love to see a show about characters that are at the same place in life I am. I'm a 26 year old woman that's about to get married and start a new chapter of my life. But on the other hand, I'm a horribly confused woman attempting to find my place in life. Where are the shows about women in jobs that they can't stand, thinking about going back to school yet again to find a career that actually makes them happy. Or battling weight because there's not enough time in the day to do everything you have to do and still make it to the gym.

I mean really, how many love triangles have you run into in your life? They're not as common as television leads us to believe. And I can't name a single one of my friends that is even working in the career field they want, but somehow on television the characters are always at least somewhere close to where they want to be in life.

All right....I'm done with my rant for now.

You can check out the official site at quarterlife.com.

All right people, here we go. Live American Idol blogging! :)

Michael Johns didn't do so well tonight which was disappointing. Fleetwood Mac was not a good song choice for him. I really am a fan of his, but I think he needs to stick to songs that show a bit more power than this one.

I actually really enjoyed Jason Castro tonight. I thought he did much better than last week. His arrangements are quite good, they make the song feel different and not simply redone. I think the judges were a bit hard on him (then again I didn't agree with their assessment of him last week at all). I do think he needs to lose the guitar though. I like the image, but it could become a crutch very easily.

Luke Menard took on Freddie Mercury, which is always a difficult choice. Queen is difficult to sing, it almost always comes across as a bad imitation. I agree with Simon on this one completely. Luke simply doesn't have the charisma to pull off Killer Queen, honestly not many people do.

Robbie Carrico gave a fairly average performance. He's another one of my favorites, but he didn't blow me away tonight. It was the kind of performance I could see at karaoke night at my local bar any week, nothing special.

I've never been very impressed with Danny Noriega. Sometimes age really works against performers, and I think he's that way. He's just not believable singing about life and love. And he's so very effeminate. He needs to learn to use that to his benefit, rather than letting it hold him back.

David Hernandez has charisma, and moments of being really good. A bit overly dramatic, but still very good. His voice is very strong, so there's definite potential there. I haven't fully made up my mind about him yet, if he sticks around maybe I can make a decision in a couple weeks.

I'll be honest, I don't really remember Jason Yeager. Obviously he hasn't done anything to stand out in my mind. Without looking him up on americanidol.com I wouldn't be able to tell you what he's sung up to this point. He's not a bad singer, but there's just nothing really special about him to make him stand out.

I like Chikezie's voice, but he's another one I'm not sure about. He definitely had charisma tonight and made an impression. Good song choice, it showed off what his voice can do. Off the topic of singing, his styling isn't very good. He needs someone to dress him well, and soon.

David Cook has been another one of my favorites. He brought out the guitar tonight, which I'm not sure was a good idea. It started off feeling a little awkward, but got better as the performance went on. He's obviously trying to embrace the rocker image. He picked a good song for his voice, and was fairly charismatic. Good job overall. Also, I think Simon went a little overboard on him. Simon doesn't seem to be on his game this season so far.

David Archuleta is another one where I'm not sure he's entirely believable singing about life because of his age, but he should be okay if he sticks to songs like this. I haven't been a big fan of his so far, but I can appreciate a good version of Imagine. It's one of my favorite songs of all time, and he did a good job on it. But was he singing And I'm Telling You... in that clip? That's a little weird.

Tomorrow night the girls are up again.....and I'll be here!

Last night was the 80th annual Academy Awards....and honestly it was kind of a let down. Nothing really wowed me, or even made me envy Hollywood. I do have to say that Jon Stewart was hillarious though. He was one of the best hosts an award show has seen in a long time.

Most of the films this year I'd either never heard of, or didn't have a whole lot of interest in seeing. And poor Johnny Depp, every time he's nominated for Best Actor he seems to be up against a performance that's truly wonderful. I mean come on, Daniel Day-Lewis practically becomes his characters. While filming Gangs of New York he never stopped speaking with a New York accent, and nearly got pneumonia because he refused to wear regular clothing. It's really a shame though because Johnny's performance in Sweeney Todd really was wonderful. I've heard people say that they didn't like his singing, and I don't know what they're thinking....he was fantastic! But that's enough of my obsession. Here's the winners list (at least the categories that mattered to me):

Motion Picture of the Year - No Country for Old Men
Best Actor - Daniel Day-Lewis for There Will Be Blood
Best Actress - Marion Cotillard for La Vie en Rose
Best Supporting Actor - Javier Bardem for No Country for Old Men
Best Supporting Actress - Tilda Swinton for Michael Clayton
Best Director - Ethan Coen & Joel Coen for No Country for Old Men
Best Animated Film - Ratatouille

The first meeting of the Wine Book Club presented the assignment of reading and reviewing the book Vino Italiano by Joseph Bastianich & David Lynch. I'll be honest with you, I didn't get all the way through this massive 500+ page book. I never got drawn in to the book. While it has an incredible amount of information packed into it, it isn't exactly an exciting read. It came off to me as more of a reference book than anything.

It does have a great layout. It starts out by giving the reader an overview of the history of Italian wines. Everything from regions, to grapes, to how to read an Italian wine label. The second part of the book goes over each region in depth. Each section includes "quick facts", suggested wines from the area, where to taste when you're there, and a recipe to pair with wine of the area from Mario Batali and Lidia Bastianich.

The large amount of information in this book is actually kind of overwhelming. I learned loads about areas that I didn't know a thing about before picking up the book, but with so much to take in I'm not sure everything will stay in my mind. I really would love to just have this book around the house as a reference though. For instance I would have liked to look up the Friuli-Venezia Guilia region prior to the recent Wine Blogging Wednesday where it was featured. Had I read that beforehand, I think I may have chosen my wines differently.

A friend of mine sent me this link tonight, and I couldn't help but share it with you guys.....it's just that great.


The Wine Rack is a sports bra that contains a "hooter-enhancing" polyurethane bladder that can hold an entire bottle of wine! Not to mention increasing your cup size by two full cups! It comes with a drinking tube and an "easy to use" on/off valve.

Really, what could be better than that?

If you'd like to purchase one go here to firebox.com.

Tonight the Top 24 became the Top 20 as we lost Amy Davis and Joanne Borgella from the girls and Garrett Haley and Colton Berry from the boys.

None of those choices was really a big surprise. All of their performances were equally forgettable, and won't be missed by the audience.

Just got through watching my tivo'd Oprah for the day. I know, I know....I'm a total dork, but I love it. Anyway, today she had on former winners, and the new "stars" for the show. Here's the lineup:

Adam Carolla & Julianne Hough - Carolla is of course the former co-host of the Loveline radio show (along with Dr. Drew), and Julianne is the current champion (she won with Apollo Anton Ohno in season four and Helio Castroneves in season five).

Cristián de la Fuente & Cheryl Burke - In case you can't place him Cristián is probably most recognizable (at least to me) from his role as Memo Moreno in the movie Driven. And Cheryl is also a two-time winner (she won with Drew Lachey in season two and Emmit Smith in season three).

Shannon Elizabeth & Derek Hough - Shannon Elizabeth is of course a huge film star (American Pie, Scary Movie), and Derek Hough is Julianne's very cute older brother.

Steve Guttenberg & Anna Trebunskaya - Steve Guttenberg is also a huge star (Police Academy, Three Men And a Baby), and Anna is a familiar face on DwtS returning for her third season.

Penn Jillette & Kym Johnson - Penn is of course one half of the wildly famous duo Penn & Teller (I highly recommend their Showtime show Bullshit if you haven't seen it). Kym is the Australian with the rockin' body that was paired with Joey Fatone in season four.

Mario & Karina Smirnoff - Mario is an R&B star, who I admit I've barely heard of, so not a big one for me. And Karina was Mario Lopez's partner in season three, and boy was that a steamy couple.

Marlee Matlin & Fabian Sanchez - Marlee is famous to me mainly for being a deaf actress, and honestly I'm really interested to see how that effects her dancing. I've heard deaf dancers say that they dance by feeling the vibrations of the music, I'm curious if that's how she will as well. Fabian is new to the show and the DwtS site says that he is the 2006 World Mambo Champion.

Priscilla Presley & Lous VanAmstel - Priscilla is of course the widow of Elvis Presley (who's had way too much plastic surgery at this point), and Louis is returning for his fourth season.

Monica Seles & Jonathan Roberts - Monica Seles is a tennis pro who is probably most famous for being stabbed by a fan in 1993. And Jonathan was the ever-supportive partner of Maria Osmond last season.

Marissa Jaret Winokur & Tony Dovolani - Marissa is apparently a Broadway star from the musical Hairspray (honestly I have no idea, didn't care to watch the movie or the musical). And Tony is familiar as the partner of Jane Seymour last season.

Kristi Yamaguchi & Mark Ballas - Kristi Yamaguchi is an Olympic Gold Metal winning figure skater (who I just love), and Mark is of course the adorable dancer who was recently paired with Sabrina Bryan of the Cheetah Girls.

(photo courtesy of www.oprah.com)

I'm sure you've noticed from the past couple of postings that I'm expanding the focus of the site a bit. Cause quite frankly I have a lot of say about many different things, not just wine! So while wine is still a major part of my life and my writing, I'm going to try and work in other interests as well. So please, keep reading and let me know what you think of the new feel.

Well this week was the first week of voting on Idol. Last night we saw the top 12 men, and tonight the top 12 women. I admit to you all that I am a complete and total Idol fanatic. The first episode I ever saw was Clay Aiken's audition in Season 2, and I've been hooked ever since. So as an avid Idol watcher, here are my thoughts on this week's performances.

As many times as I've heard the judges say that this is the most talented group of contestants ever, I have to be honest and say that I don't really see it. Nobody has stood out for me as much as some have in previous seasons. Don't get me wrong, there are a couple that stand out a bit, but not as clear-cut winners yet.

Of the boys my favorites were the rockers. David Cook, Robbie Carrico, and Michael Johns are all front-runners for me. Michael Johns, I must say....any man that can sing Freddie Mercury and Jim Morrison is already a winner in my book. On the other side of the spectrum, I don't understand the infatuation the judges seem to have with David Archuleta. He's a decent singer, but I really don't see anything special about him so far. And while Jason Castro definitely has an interesting look that makes him stand out, I wasn't blown away by his singing. And as Simon says, the rest of them were simply forgettable.

For the girls, I have to start off by giving them props for singing with this flu/brochitis crud. I've had it myself for nearly a week now, and it's absolutely horrible. No matter what Simon says, it would be tough as hell to sing with this. I can barely talk!

There are more girls that have stood out to me in the competition so far than guys. Amanda Overmyer and Brooke White both have a great 60's throwback vibe, though Brooke lost a little bit of her charm for me this week. Alaina Whitaker came out and surprised me with how big of a voice she has. I hadn't payed much attention to her before, but now I'll keep my eye on her. Kady Malloy was also better than I thought she would be, not fantastic yet, but I think she has potential.

Sidenote....is it just me or does everyone else have a flashback to Mean Girls when seeing her name?

I think Ramiele Malubay's (whoa that's a mouthful) song choice was perfect for her voice. I have always loved big soulful voices coming out of little Asian girls. She reminds me a great deal of Miwa Yoshida of Dreams Come True. Asia'h and Syesha are both pretty good, but they're a bit similar so I think that they need to distinguish themselves a bit. And lastly Carly Smithson. I think she is really an incredible talent, can't wait to see what she does this season (especially if that was with the flu!).

So as usual I've found a new toy that I want. I read a lot of books, there are piles of books everywhere in my house. This little gadget has the ability to hold over 200 titles, and even more can be stored online with Amazon. What a great gadget for traveling! Or if you're a student.....how cool would it be to only have to carry around this little thing instead of a backpack full of books?! And I can't help myself, but it looks like something right out of Star Trek! I just love it!

Okay, more details....it uses Sprint's cell phone network to download things, and Amazon picks up the bill. So you can use it just about anywhere and the only cost to you is whatever you're downloading. This also means that you can subscribe to magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc. and have them automatically downloaded every day.

The battery sounds fantastic as well. With wireless on it needs to be recharged every other day, but if you turn it off it can last for a week without having to recharge (which it does fully in 2 hours).

Book prices are pretty affordable. $9.99 for new releases and New York Times Bestsellers, and they say that a lot of books are even less than that. Of course the price of the actual unit is a little expensive at $399 (and Amazon seems to be out of stock at the moment).

I really can't wait to see where this technology goes. I'm not going to be buying one of these units right away, but after a couple of revisions I think I'll be much more interested. I think right now it's at a stage similar to how cell phones used to view web pages compared to how the iPhone views web pages now. Once the Kindle makes that kind of jump....it'll become the "next big theme".

Click here to read more about it and view some videos.

Last Friday I made it to the last half of a tasting put on by Pine Creek Wine & Spirits. It wasn't a large tasting, but there were several bottles there that I hadn't tried before, so definitely worthwhile. The even took place at the Hilton Garden Inn in northern Colorado Springs, and was free to attend.

Here is a list of the wines tasted, along with my notes on them (prices according to Pine Creek Wine & Spirits).

• E All'Omo Vino IGT 100% Sangiovese, $17.99 - okay, but not impressive
• Innominato IGT Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot $11.99 - rather weak overall
• Seppelt Tawny Port $10.49 - fantastic tawny port, rich and caramel flavored
• Duo Cab Merlot Blend $12.49 - smooth, but not very bold
• Hayment & Hill Zin $11.99 - I didn't get to try this one, but the person I was with loved it
• Red Guitar Rosé $10.99 - a very weak rosé
• Tangent Pinot Blanc $14.99 - slightly too acidic for my tastes
• Baileyana Pinot Noir $27.99 - nice, bold

And I've tried these three before and always enjoy them
Menage a Trois Red Blend
Menage a Trois White Blend
Menage a Trois Rosé